I made this... quite a while ago. Honestly, at this point, I don't even remember making it. But it's in my notes, so I must've done at some point. I've just been bad at keeping up with all the recipe write-ups this year. There's been a lot going on and the write-ups (along with a lot of other stuff) have been falling through the cracks. I'm doing my best to catch up now though. We'll see how far I get.

Quinoa with Asparagus, Portobellos, and Feta

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 c. quinoa
• 2 1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock, divided
• 1/3 c. dried currants
• 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 red onion, halved and sliced
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 450g asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/3 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• grated zest of 1 lemon
• 125g feta, crumbled

Directions

1. Combine the quinoa with 2 c. of the stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the currants and reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed (~15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside. (Keep covered.)
4. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add garlic, mushrooms, and onion and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Sauté until they begin to brown (5-6 minutes).
7. Add the vinegar and cook until absorbed.
8. Add the asparagus and toss to coat.
9. Add the remaining 1/2 c. of stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until asparagus is fork tender (3-4 minutes).
10. Add the quinoa, parsley, lemon zest, and feta and serve.

Dahi Malai Methi Gosht (Creamy Yogurt and Fenugreek Lamb Curry)

I picked up some stewing lamb on sale a while back. I don't often get lamb; too expensive. But we all really like it, so when it goes on sale, I try to make sure to get some. Then it's just a matter of trying to decide which of the many, many lamb recipes to cook.

I had also bookmarked a tasty-looking lamb biryani recipe for this. But it required a lengthy marinade and I didn't have time for that by the time I was getting started, so I opted for this fenugreek curry instead. Maybe next time I can try the biryani...

Photo goes here.

Dahi Malai Methi Gosht

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 onion, half sliced, half chopped
• 8-10 cloves garlic
• 5-6 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies
• 3 (4x3x0.3cm) slices fresh ginger
• 450g stewing lamb
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 c. chopped fresh or frozen fenugreek (or 1/2 c. dried fenugreek, reconstituted)
• 1 c. water
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream¹

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, salt, chopped onion, garlic, chilies, and ginger in a blender and purée until smooth.
2. Pour the marinade over the lamb and toss to combine.
3. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes and as long as overnight.
4. When ready to cook, heat ghee over medium-high heat.
5. Add the sliced onion and stir-fry until edges brown (3-5 minutes).
6. Add the lamb along wiht all of the marinade and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated (~15 minutes).
7. Add the fenugreek leaves and water and bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is tender and the sauce has thickened (~30 minutes).
9. Mix in the cream and allow to heat through (~2 minutes).
10. Serve with naan and/or rice.

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¹ Heavy cream, of course, gives you the richest, most unctuous results, but you can get away with half-and-half (10% MF) in a pinch. (Either because you're trying to cut calories or if, like me, you find your cream has gone off and half-and-half is all you can get to replace it on short notice.) ^Back

The Kidlet and I made this cake to take to Thanksgiving. It is a very rich, dense cake full of oatmeal and chocolate. And the peanut butter icing adds even more decadence.

Photo goes here.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

Slightly adapted from C&C Cakery

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 c. rolled oats
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 c. boiling water
• 225g dark chocolate chips (or coarsely chopped dark chocolate)
• 1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 c. sugar¹
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting

• 1 1/2 c. peanut butter
• 1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 200g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar²
• 3/4 c. heavy (35%) cream, whipped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) and grease a 23x33cm (9x13") cake tin/baking dish.
2. Place the stick of butter with the oats, pour over the boiling water, and let stand for 1 minute.
3. Stir the oat mixture to thoroughly combine and let stand until cooled.
4. Meanwhile, toss the chocolate with 2 Tbsp. of the flour and set aside.
5. Beat the eggs with the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and vanilla.
6. Add the oat mixture once cooled and stir to combine.
7. Mix in the remaining 1 1/2 c. of flour.
8. Stir in the flour-coated chocolate chips.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
10. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35-45 minutes.
11. Allow to cool completely before icing.
12. Beat the peanut butter with the butter until light and fluffy.
13. Mix in the vanilla and salt.
14. Gradually sift in the icing sugar while continuing to beat vigorously.
15. Fold in the whipped cream.
16. Spread the icing evenly over the cooled cake.

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¹ The original recipe called for 3/4 c. sugar and 1 1/4 c. brown sugar. I used the full amount of granulated sugar, but only 1 c. of brown sugar this time around. The cake came out great, but I'd be tempted to try it with slightly less sugar next time. Maybe just 1/2 of granualted and 1 c. of brown. And, if that works well, I'd be tempted to omit the granulated sugar altogether on future attempts and just roll with 1 1/4 c. of brown sugar. That said, I didn't want to adjust things too much too fast. Hence the incremental approach. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 2 c. of icing sugar. I weighed my sugar and found it came in at ~125g/cup. So I used ~250g of icing sugar for my frosting. That said, I found it a little sweeter and stiffer than I'd ideally like, so I think I'd aim for closer to 200g of sugar next time. ^Back

I needed a quick vegetable side to complement a pasta dish TF was making for dinner the other day. We were out of a lot of our usual staples, so my options were somewhat limited. But we did have (more-or-less) what we needed for this kale dish. And, while the Kidlet didn't care for it, TF and I both liked it.

Photo goes here.

Sautéed Kale with Anchovies

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 300g frozen kale or 450g fresh¹
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4-6 oil-packed anchovies
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. If necessary, rinse the kale well, then trim and chop.
2. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add the garlic and anchovies and sautée for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the kale, water, and salt and cook until kale is tender (~10 minutes).
5. Stir in pepper flakes, lemon zest, and lemon juice and serve.

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¹ You'll need to start with a bit more kale if using fresh to account for loss when trimming out the tough stems and central ribs. ^Back

This is pretty similar to the savoury sourdough discard we already make, but it incorporates a chemical leavener to yield a slightly fluffier finished pancake. The "batter" is just sourdough discard thinned with a little water, seasoned with a pinch of salt, and given a bit of baking powder for leavening. Chopped scallions and herbs get stirred into the batter as well. I think cilantro and/or parsley work particularly well. But you could experiment with a variety of different herbs.

The recipe suggests serving these with a dumpling dipping sauce. The Kidlet had hers with ketchup. TF went for some Sichuan peppercorn pickles. And I had mine with Laoganma and a little soy sauce. (Although next time I think I'd swap out the soy sauce for a bit of black vinegar instead.)

Much like with the other savoury pancakes, I think these go well with fried eggs. The eggs add a little protein and make the meal a bit more substantial.

Sourdough Herb and Scallion Pancakes

Slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

• 170g sourdough discard @ 100% hydration
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4-1/3 c. fresh herbs, chopped
• fried eggs, to serve
• condiments (soy sauce, Laoganma, pickles, ketchup, mayo, vinegar, etc.), to serve

Directions

1. Combine the sourdough discard, water, salt, and baking soda and mix well.
2. Mix in the green onions and herbs.
3. Heat a tawa or griddle over medium heat.
4. Oil or grease the griddle if necessary.
5. Drop a scoop of batter (~1/4 c.) onto the hot griddle and cook until bubbles form and edges look dry.
6. Flip and cook until browned on both sides and pancake is cooked through.
7. Repeat with remaining batter, cooking 2-3 pancakes at a time.
8. Serve pancakes topped with fried eggs and/or conidements of your choice.

Zeera Kamal Kakadi (Cumin Lotus Root Curry)

We had a small amount of lotus root left over in the freezer from the last lotus root curry we made, but it wasn't really enough to do anything with. It was, however, enough to add to a new bag of frozen lotus root to make a different curry. And a very tasty and easy one to boot!

Zeera Kamal Kakadi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 slices fresh ginger (5x3x0.3cm), peeled and minced
• 3 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, minced
• 1 c. water
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g fresh or frozen lotus root, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, and chilies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the water, salt, and lotus root and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine the yogurt, cream, and cumin and mix well.
6. Once the lotus root is cooked, add the yogurt mixture and stir to combine.
7. Cook until heated through (3-5 minutes).
8. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Limboo Arbi (Taro Root Curry with Lime)

I was originally planning on making just two curries for dinner tonight: one lamb and fenugreek curry and one dal. However, both curries had a reasonably long simmering stage and I found myself at loose ends, so I decided to throw together this simple taro root curry as well.

It was especially easy in my case, since I had a bag of peeled, sliced taro root in the freezer already. So there was virtually no prep needed. I just dumped the taro into a pot of hot water and brought it to a boil. Once the water boiled, I drained it immediately rather than letting it cook for any length of time because a) frozen vegetables have generally been parcooked already and b) it was sliced much tinner than the thick half moons suggested by the recipe. This seems to have worked reasonably well and I'm quite happy with the result.

Limboo Arbi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 450g taro root
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tsp. sambhar masala
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. ground asafetida
• 12 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp. skinned split black lentils (urad dal/white lentils/mapte beans)
• 1 c. water
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Peel the taro and rise well (it will still be slippery after rinsing).
2. Cut each root in half lengthwise, then cut crosswise into 3-4cm pieces.
3. Place taro in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 8-10 minutes. Then drain and allow to cool slightly.¹
5. Toss the cooked taro with the cilantro, sambhar masala, salt, turmeric, asafetia, and curry leaves.
6. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
7. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they stop popping (30-60 seconds).
8. Add the lentils and stir-fry for 15-30 seconds.
9. Add the taro mixture and stir-fry to cook the spices (1-2 minutes).
10. Add the water and deglaze the pan.
11. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens (~5 minutes).
12. Stir in the lime juice and serve.

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¹ Alternatively, instead of peeling and cutting up the taro first, scrub it with a vegetable brush and then boil the whole (unpeeled) roots for ~15 minutes. Drain, allow to cool, and peel and chop the taro once it is cool enough to handle. Either approach should work equally well. ^Back